Saturday, May 26, 2012

Travel
bazaar has a tie up with Luxe Asia from Sri Lanka, who looked after our visit
within the country. Mr Duminda our tour driver and guide, works for Luxe Asia.
It was our third day with Duminda. Initially we felt intimidated by his huge
size, but in a very short span he struck a chord in all of us with his friendly
and affable demeanor. The ingredients of a good trip are many – one of them
being the attitude of the people with whom we come in contact. To be honest
Duminda made the trip for us – extremely helpful and polite, he answered all
our silly queries patiently and always with a smile. Besides he took the
trouble to introduce us to Sri Lankan food and even got us to gingerly taste a
variety of fruit that we hadn’t come across before in India. Most importantly,
he drove the vehicle very carefully and never once did we feel concerned about
our safety. People like him can create a very favorable impression of the
country. Well done, Duminda!

The ordinary
Sri Lankans with whom we interacted are extremely respectful and friendly. They
view Indians in a very favorable light. Someone I met, went on to thank India
for all the support and felt sorry for the death of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi.
Throughout our stay we found our interaction with the Sri Lankans very pleasant-
polite, friendly and warm - they go out of their way to welcome you and forever
one hears ‘Ayubowan’ (may you live long and healthy) derived from the Sanskrit
word ‘Ayushman bhava’ meaning the same.

No wonder the
National Geographic Traveller Magazine in its press release had declared that “Sri
Lanka is one of the six countries that a tourist should visit in the year 2012”

Having
covered more than 800 Km on the island roads I can say with conviction that the
roads are marked and maintained beautifully. I did not encounter a single ugly
speed breaker with which we are so familiar. The absence of speed breakers makes
travel all the smoother. In its place they have large yellow zig zag patterns
and markings, warning the drivers to exercise caution. The traffic is very
disciplined, however low in volume. All the riders wear helmets including
children riding pillion. The presence of the Highway police is conspicuous.

Our next
place of visit was the hill station Nuwara Eliya. As we drove along from Kandy,
the countryside changed very rapidly from a coastal landscape of cultivated
fields of coconut plantations and paddy fields to hills and manicured tea estates.
All along the way there were local vegetable and fruit shops displaying their
wares.

Figure 1 - Vegetables and fruits
on display

On the way
we stopped at a strawberry farm for lunch. There we learnt that the strawberry
is not a fruit but an enlarged receptacle of the flower of the plant. Whatever
it may be, the huge helping of strawberries with ice-cream was absolutely
delicious! J

Figure 2 - Strawberry farm

Figure 3 - Grown inside a hot house

Figure 4 - Strawberry flower

Figure 5 - Ripe Strawberry

Figure 6 - The treat

Figure 7 - Some Gyan on Strawberries

Figure 8 - All set to be sold - reminds me of Coonoor and
Ooty

Figure 9 – A darling 82 year old Sri Lankan woman in the
shop

Figure 10 - Ramboda waterfalls - on the
way

Figure 11 - Pleased with life

Figure 12 - Equally happy - Jai and
Naveen

Figure 13 - A typical Tea Estate

Figure 14 - The rolling hills

Figure 15 - Kats and Duminda taking a
break after a sip of tea

At Nuwara Eliya 30 May to 02 May

According
to mythology, Nuwara Eliya figures as a
setting in the famed Indian epic Ramayana, narrating the story of the
Indian King Rama whose wife, Sita, was robbed by Ravana, King of
Lanka. When Hanuman, King Rama’s monkey general came with his army to
save Sita, King Ravana retaliated by setting fire to his long tail. It’s said
that Hanuman then used his tail to burn down Ravana’s entire
magnificent city that is believed to have stood where Nuwara Eliya is
today. According to legend, the black soil that forms a top layer
in Nuwara Eliya is made up of the ashes of what used to be the city
of Ravana.

Historysays Nuwara Eliya was discovered by a hunting party led by Dr. John Davy in
1818. Sir Edward Barnes was the Governor from 1824-1831. He constructed roads
and shelters in Nuwara-Eliya and made it a good place to live and so he is
known as "the Father of Nuwara-Eliya”. Later on the city of Nuwara Eliya was
developed by Samuel Baker,
the discoverer of Lake Albert and the explorer of the Nile in 1846. Nuwara
Eliya, called Little England then, was the prime sanctuary of British civil servants and planters in Ceylon.

Our
next halt was the theme hotel ‘Heritance
Tea Factory’ 23 Km from NE (the word ‘heritance’ being a combination of
heritage and inheritance). A bit of history about the place is very important
to fully absorb the greatness of the hotel.

The
origins of Hethersett

In 1867
a Scotsman, James Taylor, first introduced tea to Ceylon, as the island was
then known. Within a decade, the plant had become a popular crop among colonial
planters, covering over 5,000 acres. As the number of requests to open tea
plantations grew, the government sold land to pioneer planters in the 1870s.
Among the bidders was William Flowerdew, who named his plantation after his
native village, Hethersett, in England, and built a tea factory to process his
crop. In Tamil, the plantation is known as Pupanie, which means “flowers of frost”
– a quaint way of describing the cold mist that occasionally descends on
Hethersett. Mr Flowerdew had sold the plantation by 1881, and it then passed
through the hands of different owners. In the Goatfell Bar you can see a list
of all the planters, from William Flowerdew in 1879 to JME Waring until 1972,
after which the factory closed down. But by 1968, the Hethersett factory had
passed its heyday, and it was finally closed in 1973. It stood unused, standing
tall among the surrounding tea bushes, a silent monument to the days of pure
Ceylon tea.

In 1992, Mr G C Wickremasinghe, a Director of
Aitken Spence and Company Limited, happened to observe the tea factory through
the mist-covered hills. He had a vision of transforming the shell into a
unique, luxury hotel.

The idea was brought to fruition through the
talent of architect Nihal Bodhinayake. No alterations or additions have been
made to the exterior – the windows and woodwork are entirely original as
designed by British engineers.

Heritance Tea Factory opened as a hotel in
1996.

I firmly believe that Heritance Tea Factory
is an experience by itself. The atmosphere takes you back in time when a day
was made up of more than 24 hours, you woke up to the call of chirping birds nearby, hot tea in bed, a hot
tub bath, breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausages, hash browns, fresh plantation
coffee and a news paper in hand to complete the picture. The period furniture,
fire place and glowing embers add to the warmth of the place. The overall
ambiance and the hospitality are almost magical and mesmerizing.

The atmosphere is
very welcoming; in a short time you feel at home and begin to blend with it.
The staff is always there, appearing discretely from the shadows, to meet all
your requirements – silent and willing. The atmosphere is somewhere between a 5
star hotel and a very well run club of British Heritage.

The silence in the
area is overpowering, barking, chirping and other calls of wild animals can be
heard very clearly at night. Time seems to tick slowly defying Albert Einstein’s
theories. It takes you back to a time when life was less complicated and easy
going, when there was time for poetry, painting and unbridled romance.

We did exactly what
one would have done a hundred years back. Laid back and enjoyed the
hospitality, took in lung fulls of fresh mountain air, went for long walks in
the plantation, ate like pigs, drank like a (oooops) let us not bring it up
again and slept like a bear in hibernation – we did read a lot. In short it was
one big relaxation. To add to all this indulgence, the weather was great –
between 16 * to 24* deg C. The hotel, located at a height of 6500 ft, has a
commanding view of the surroundings.

Figure 16 - Heritance Tea Factory

Figure 17 – The Ceremonial Reception

Figure 18 - The cozy tea room

Figure 19 – Awards and Recognition

Figure 20 - The main lobby

Figure 21 - From another angle

Figure 22 - Sit out from the main lobby

Figure 23 - A very comfortable room
with a view

Figure 24 - View from the room

Figure 25 - Yet another view

Figure 26 - Nearby plantation

Figure 27 - Mini tea factory

Figure 28 – The Art of Making Tea

Figure 29 - Photo op with my silly hat

Figure 30 - Friends

Figure 31 - Naveen pleased with Kats

Figure 32 – A very happy traveler

Figure 33 - Sun decides to go down

Figure 34 - Darkness envelopes the area

Figure 35 - Bird decides to rest for
the night

Figure 36 - Finally the sun set - a
grand finale

Figure 37 - The village below

Figure 38 - Sheer warmth and ecstasy

Figure 39 - Kats all set for the
sundowner and the dinner has arrived

Figure 40 – Jai and Naveen warding of a
Bumble Bee attack - had kept the window
open - sorry

Figure 41 - Gregory's lake - Nuwara Eliya

Figure 42 - Ride in the forest

Figure 43 - Ready for breakfast

Figure 44 - Satisfied customers

Figure 45 - Dining room was once the
packing room. Notice the tea chests which makes up the table.

Figure 46 - Sanctum Sanctorum

Figure 47 - A very well appointed bar

Figure 48 - Goatfell Bar, which offers
more than 20 different types of tea, tea mocktails, Hethersett Fog – a blend of
tea, lime juice, angostura bitters and lemonade, topped with a slice of lime
and tea leaves

Figure 49 - Enjoying the sun

Figure 50 – A happy and contented lot -
it shows!

Figure 51 - Ayubuwan till we meet again

Figure 52 - Visit to the Grand Hotel -
Nuwara Eliya

Figure 53 - The Grand Hotel -Has a
heritage exceeding 120 years and was the residence of Sir Edward Barnes,
Governor of Sri Lanka during the era from 1830 to 1850.